Lash LaRue Western #5

A donkey's relentless braying drives everyone around Wagonwheels to the edge of madness, but the ornery critter's owner refuses to silence the animal—after all, the stubborn beast has big ambitions. This 1950 humor western takes a silly detour into the logic of an eager (if noisy) burro with dreams of self-improvement.

Lash LaRue wakes up in the desert with a missing day—and no memory of how he got there or where his horse went. Back in Prairie Gulch, a shocking diagnosis throws the legendary roving marshal's life into chaos when a professor claims he suffers from a split personality, with one half a killer the other doesn't know about. Now locked away in an asylum, Lash has just one hour to prove his innocence and uncover the truth behind a murder that someone wants pinned on him.

Dusty's in a hurry to get home with a peculiar problem—his roof has a bad case of shingles—but when a fellow named Zeke corners him at the general store with questions, the conversation spirals into a series of misunderstandings and tall tales. Between dodging Zeke's confusion about a car sale, refusing a lucrative (but dangerous) job at the circus, and nursing a stomach complaint, Dusty finds himself tangled up in comic back-and-forths where every answer leads to a wronger question.

When roving marshal Lash LaRue races to stop Big Hutch and his cattle rustlers terrorizing the ranches near Pulver City, he finds himself battling on multiple fronts—outnumbered gunmen, a deadly stampede, and a gang determined to stay one step ahead. With his bullwhip and wits his only reliable weapons, Lash must survive being buried alive and recover his horse to track down the outlaws' hidden stronghold. It all comes down to whether a loyal companion's instincts can lead him to justice before the rustlers escape with their stolen herd.

Lash LaRue, the roving marshal, finds himself caught in a web of murder and theft when a diamond courier turns up dead and a forged note sets off a chain of deception in Tuxton Point. Racing to uncover who orchestrated the robbery and ambush, Lash must untangle the lies—and stay alive long enough to stop the criminals from escaping with the stolen gems. With danger closing in at every turn, the marshal's quick wits are tested as much as his nerve.

Molasses Mouth has come up with what he figures is a surefire way to break his habit of talking to himself—by answering his own questions in French, a language he doesn't understand. It's the kind of foolproof frontier logic that could only make perfect sense to a character determined to outsmart his own mouth.